[Pelican]

Maybe this will offend the purists who don’t tamper with ratings, but why not simply open the Editor and assign a middle infielder without, for example, a SS rating, “experience” of 100 or even 200 at that position? I have done this, and it results in a low rating at SS, relative to 2B or 3B, as it should be, given that SS is the most demanding IF position. [To be fair, I then reduce the “experience” at the other positions, on the theory he can’t play everywhere at once…]. Whereas if you give a SS lacking “experience” at 2B a 100 value, the rating at 2B is comparatively better (but still less than at SS). What I don’t know is whether the “new” rating would improve with experience. In making these modifications, I have tried to keep myself honest, and not put corner IF at middle IF positions (unless they played there at some point in their career). Stretching the boundaries of this, I have played Jimmie Hall (one of my favorite players as a kid, and star of my very first Strat-O-Matic team) at SS in my 1971 sim. He’s a wretched fielder, since he hadn’t played SS for years. But he hits well enough to stay in the lineup (now for the Padres).